Folding dish-drying rack



y 8, 1950 G. EINHORN 2,516,088

FOLDING DISH-DRYING RACK Filed Sept. 3, 1947 I N V EN TOR. GEORGE E/NHORN.

BYWMW .11. v

ATTORNEK July 18, 1950 i e. EINHORN 2,516,088

FOLDING DISH-DRYING RACK, 7

Filed Sept. 3, 1947 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 V INVENTOR. GEORGE E/NHORN.

A r 70mm.

Patented July 18, 1956 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE FOLDING DISH-DRYING RACK George Einhorn, Forest Hills, N. Y.

Application September 3, 1947, Serial No. 771,971

This invention relates to a collapsible or fold.- ing rack for holding dishes, eating utensils and the like, and has as its general object, the proricated at low cost from round wire stock or other suitable material, and which comprises a' minimum number of parts assembled in a simple manner to produce a unit having great strength an 1 durability. h

The foregoing objects, as well as additional objects and advantages of the invention will be readily apparent in the course of the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings which illustrate a preferred embodiment of the invention and where- Fig. 1 is a top plan view of a rack embodying the features of the invention, the rack being shown in collapsed, inoperative condition.

Fig. 2 is a similar view showing the rack in open, operative condition for the reception of dishes, eating utensils, and the like. it

Fig. 3 is a front elevation of the rack of Fig. 2, showing the dish-supporting elements in inclined operative position.

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken along line 4-4 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary detail view illustrating the operation of the push-bar control for raising the dish-supporting elements from substantially coplanar inoperative alignment to inclined, substantially parallel operative alignment, the intermediate position of the elements being shown in broken outline.

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary detail view similar to Fig. 5, but illustrating the final operative position of the dish-supporting elements.

Fig. '7 is a sectional view taken along line l--'! of Fig. 2, illustrating a preferred form of jackknife or over-center pivot arrangement for yieldingly retaining the side wall in operative condition.

Fig. 8 is a similar view showing the side wall partially turned inwardly in the operation of collapsing the rack.

Fig. 9 is a plan view of a preferred form of dishsupporting element.

'2 Claims. (01. 211-41) Fig. 10 is an elevational View of the dish-supporting element shown in Fig. 9.

Fig. 11 is a fragmentary end view, as seen in the direction of the arrows on lines lI--Il of Fig. 2.

The rack is preferab1y formed from round Wire stockwhich may have a protective coating of rubher or synthetic resin or rust-resistant metal. The use of wire is desirable to provide open network construction in order to allow wet dishes and eatingutensils to drain properly to provide a sufiicient circulation of air through the rack for rapid drying of'the articles held thereupon.

The rack is provided with a base l0 defined by a continuous rectangular frame of wire having the sides H and ends [-2. Said base I!) is crossed by longitudinal rods |3and transverse rods M. The transverse rods I 4 do not extend for the complete width of the rack in order to provide a section of the rack. for mounting the dish-supporting elements !5.

Said elements lfiare preferably haped with a main arcuate portion 15a, an integral crank portion 1 5b at one end of said arcuate portion and a mounting lug I50 at the opposite end of said arcuate portion. Crank portion IE?) is askew with respect to main portion 15a, as clearly indicated in Figs. 5, 6 and 10 for a purpose to be fully described hereinafter.

A plurality of elements l5 are pivotally supported between an adjac'entpair of longitudinal rods I3a in any suitable manner. A convenient arrangement involves the use of a pair of supporting members it having depressions or nodes [6a spaced therealong, each being secured below a respective longitudinal rod l3a, as by means of soldering or spot-welding, thereby allowing each element l5 to be pivotally mounted between an opposed pair of nodes or depressions I 6a, as clearly shown in Figs. 4, 5 and 6. Each element I5 is preferably mounted with the crank portion I51) positioned outwardly, and the lug portion I50 positioned inwardly to make said crank portion easily accessible for attachment to and manipulation by a push-bar IT.

A pair of mounting plates 18 is suitably positioned and secured to ends l2 of base In to serve as legs for the tray and also to serve as guides for slidably reciprocating push-bar I1 by means of slots 180, formed in each of said plates. Push-bar I1 is further provided with a plurality of spaced apertures for the reception of crank portions I522 of elements 15. As has been preelement I5 is askew with respect to main arcuate portion la to allow pivotal rotation of said elements from the substantially coplanar inoperative alignment of Figs. 1 and 5 to the inclined, substantially parallel operative alignment of Figs. 2 and 6, by the manual manipulation of pushbar IT in respective opposite directions. More specifically, elements I5 are rotated to inclined operative position by moving push-bar I! to the right and are rotated to substantially coplanar inoperative position by moving said push-bar to the left, "as shown by the arrows in Fig. 3.

Another feature of the invention resides in the construction and arrangement of collapsible side wall 20, which may be formed with a top 2| and integral sides 22. A mounting rod [3a is secured as by soldering or spot-welding adjacent the side II and on the bottom of base In. Said mounting rod B11 is substantially parallel to the longitudinal supporting rods I 3, but is secured on the opposite side or bottom of the base l0. The sides 22 of side wall are each formed with a terminal loop 22a which may be passed over mounting rod l3a for pivotal connection of said side wall about said mounting rod. A lower 1ongitudinal rod 23 and intermediate transverse struts 24 may be employed to reinforce the side wall 20. The terminal struts 24a are preferably extended downwardly to form a pair of depending legs 25 interconnected by a, longitudinal portion 25a. Legs 25 are preferably turned inwardly, as clearly shown at 26, in Figs. 7 and 8, to provide a jackknife or over-center arrangement for releasably engaging side wall 20 against side H of 'base It, as said side wall is pivoted to its extended operative condition.

The rack is also provided with a pair of end walls 30, each end wall being pivotally engaged with a respective end I2 of base Ill. Each end wall 38 may be defined by a top 3| and sides 32 integral therewith. The sides 32 may be formed with a terminal loop 32a which may be passed over a respective end 12 of base 10 to provide pivotal connection therewith, the outward movement of each of end walls being limited by means of a longitudinal U-shaped stop member 33 fixed to the end l2 of base 10. The bottom of sides 32 of each end wall 30 is preferably inwardly curved adjacent loop portion 321; as shown at 3 4 in Fig. 3, to allow said end walls to be flat against inwardly folded side wall 20 in the collapsed inoperative condition of the rack.

Since certain modifications may be made in the rack of the invention without departing from the scope thereof, it is intended that all matter contained in the foregoing description and shown in the accompanying drawings be interpreted merely as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

l. A collapsible rack for dishes, eating utensils and the like, said rack comprising a base defined by a rectangular wire frame, said base having longitudinal rods extending thereacross and connected to the frame at its ends, a plurality of dish-supporting elements extending between and pivotally secured to an adjacent pair of longitudinal rods, each of said elements including a crank portion, a pair of mounting plates secured to said base, a reciprocable push-bar carried by said plates, said push-bar having a plurality of spaced apertures receiving said crank portions, a side wall pivoted to said base, said side wall being formed with a pair of integral depending legs, said legs being engageable against said base for releasably retaining said side wall in raised operative position, a pair of end walls pivoted to said base, and a U-shaped stop member fixed to said base at each end thereof for limiting the outward movement of each of said end walls.

2. A collapsible rack in accordance with claim 1, wherein each of said dish-supporting elements is provided with a main arcuate portion, said crank portion being in offset relation with respect to said main arcuate portion, whereby to allow rotation of said elements from an inoperative position substantially coplanar with said base to an operative inclined position of substantially parallel alignment.

GEORGE EINHORN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 946,977 Muller Jan. 18, 1910 1,006,328 Widenhofer Oct. 1'7, 1911 1,997,451 Burkle Apr. 9, 1935 2,163,865 Bitney June 27, 1939 2,479,118 Jenness Aug. 16, 1949 

